Matt Cutts Clarifies Guest Blogging for SEO (with tips)

Matt Cutts dropped the hammer today on people that are guest blogging for links.

Matt Cutts stated “I’m calling it: if you’re using guest blogging as a way to gain links in 2014, you should probably stop. Why? Because over time it’s become a more and more spammy practice, and if you’re doing a lot of guest blogging then you’re hanging out with really bad company.”

Downfall of Guest Blogging SEO

He shows the following email:

Here at SEJ we get 20+ of these same type pitches daily. It’s annoying. We are a site run by guest bloggers, though we’ve tightened up our guidelines to only accept the best posts out there. I, much like Cutts is really getting sick of all the crap out there. Cutts later explained “… stick a fork in it: guest blogging is done; it’s just gotten too spammy. In general I wouldn’t recommend accepting a guest blog post unless you are willing to vouch for someone personally or know them well. Likewise, I wouldn’t recommend relying on guest posting, guest blogging sites, or guest blogging SEO as a linkbuilding strategy.”

So if you don’t get what he’s talking about. If you’re willing to have someone blog on your blog for you, they better produce good content and be a credible person. You’re staking your reputation and the reputation of your blog on them. I’d imagine that it will harm your blog/website if you have crappy content or crappy authors on it.

Moving Forward

First, SEO isn’t dead. Guest posting isn’t dead. Our lives aren’t over. If guest posting was your main strategy for getting SEO links, you may want to re-evaluate what you’re doing. Guest posting is NOT dead and can be a very good source of links, but more importantly interactions that drive REAL people to your site. Create amazing content and links that will help inspire people by it’s content. That’s what’ll really help your SEO. That type of SEO will never die.

I’m positive that Cutts isn’t bashing on all guest posting but more on people that are only guest posting for a stupid link. Seriously people, stop guest posting for links. Guest post cause you’re now infront of a unique audience that you can teach something new too. Teach and inspire them. Show them something they haven’t seen before. Be a real part of a new community to expand your personal brand. Focus on HIGH-QUALITY and not lower/garbage posts.

Where Do I Start?

So now comes the big question, where do I get started with higher quality guest posting and building quality links? Honestly, there are a million places to get started. Join your local community and become a strong voice for positive. Read and comment on SEJ, SEL, SEW, Moz, Wordstream, Hubspot, Social Media Examiner, iAquire,, Google Webmaster Blog, Bing Blog, and 100’s of others. Become the expert. Comment on posts, show the community that you’re worth listening too. Then start small. Get your own blog. Signup for the Examiner (pretty easy to get into). Then work your way up.

Remember: Only post GOOD information that’s valuable to readers. Honestly, if you’re putting up content that Matt Cutts would read and want to strangle you… you probably shouldn’t put it up.

Updated:

Cutts added to his post “There are still many good reasons to do some guest blogging (exposure, branding, increased reach, community, etc.). Those reasons existed way before Google and they’ll continue into the future. And there are absolutely some fantastic, high-quality guest bloggers out there. I changed the title of this post to make it more clear that I’m talking about guest blogging for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes.”